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A site dedicated to discussing a variety of action & martial arts film entertainment. The written and expressive work of the author(s) of Film Combat Syndicate is/are protected by Copyright Law. To send us scoops or share your inquiries, email us at filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com.

SYNOPSIS:From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team--the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits--Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand--with the galaxy's fate in the balance. Marvel…

Provided that you weren't a selfish jizzbag and illegally downloaded director Patrick Hughes's new film, The Expendables 3, two weeks from its release, the latest minute-long trailer for the upcoming action thriller offers just a little bit of new footage for fans otherwise waiting for the film's big screen opening.

Production has commensed on director and action auteur Yuen Woo-Ping's new film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: The Green Destiny, and a cast is now assembling that so far includes returning sequel actress Michelle Yeoh and actors Donnie Yen and Nicholas Tse. Production is tentatively expected to last through November this year, and as we move forward, the film is still making announcements on who will officially star, aside from leaving a few names of interest that are otherwise worth mentioning.

Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, the first of director Keishi Otomo's two-part finale to the titular trilogy will finally be out today overseas in Japan long after fans have been glittered with continuous trailers, TV spots and posters.

Open to rekindle the flames of Filipino action cinema, independent filmmaker Jeff Centauri is on a mission to bring back the glory days of a genre once widely supported in his own country up until the late 1990's and early 2000's. They're small steps considering it's a zero budget affair, but each are greatly significant in contributing to what he wants to see happen for the action cinema niche in his own country.

Update 4:29pm EST: Variety has confirmed that actor Jamie Foxx is in talks to portray Mike Tyson in a yet-to-be-titled feature film, penned by writer Terence Winter and produced by Foxx's manager Rick Yorn. The film is reportedly without a studio at the moment while the details of what Winter's script will entail are being ironed out for a transition to the silver screen. There was no mention of Martin Scorsese but things could change, so stay tuned!

EARLIER REPORT:

Subscribers of Cartoon Network will be able to get a glimpse of an animated version of former boxer Mike Tyson this Fall in the zany new series, Mike Tyson Mysteries during Adult Swim, following its recent push at San Diego Comic-Con. But the entertainment headlines don't end there.

It's not often that I see my own news site get credited in a press release. Point in fact, I had one horror story earlier this year in which I wrote an article promoting a crowdfunder for a shortfilm thay ended up being plagiarized in not one, but two press releases. Since then, I demanded answers and a change to the content, but I never heard back from the person in charge of those press releases. Quite an unpleasant time indeed.

However, this time it's a little different. And needless to say, it feels very gratifying on several levels.

A second official trailer for director Masaharu Take's new drama, In The Hero is online ahead of its Japan release on September 6 courtesy of Toei. The new film, written by Keiya Mizuno and Lee Bong-Ou, presents what promises to deliver a captivating story surrounding the struggles of a passionate veteran suit stunt actor training a younger, popular prodigy ahead of a film in which the director may be more demanding of the dangerous feats he wants performed for the camera.

If you were ever looking forward to the feature-length presence of a strong female figure this summer, feel free to pan over here where international sales agent Viacom 18 is currently pushing the latest athletic biographical fight pic based on the life and times of Indian boxer, Olympian bronze medalist and biography author, Mary Kom. Actress Priyanka Chopra takes the lead in the thrilling sports drama which was announced in 2012 by producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the same year the real-life Kom became the only female boxer to qualify for the summer Olympics, on top of being a five-time world amateur champion, and then some.

If you attended San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend, you might have come across director Quentin Tarantino making the rounds to promote his Django Unchained/Zorro crossover comic. In light of this and other news, it turns out the retro cinema throwback visionary auteur best known for his work on cult hits like Resevoir Dogs, Jackie Brown and the incomparable Pulp Fiction is currently doing business with The Weinstein Company to theatrically a longer verison of his two-part martial arts spaghett-western kunoichi smash hit, Kill Bill.

You know a franchise has been successful when it continues to remain relevant, especially for a direct-to-DVD run. It's been more than twenty years since actor Tom Berenger took the role of Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Beckett in the 1993 film, Sniper with director Luis Llosa.

Action films are awesome to watch, especially if the performances are done by trained stunt professionals who know how to act. The case is often made on this site as a platform for stunt professionals who can creating high quality action content, including the professionals over at California-based film and stunt training facility 87 Eleven Action Design who are back to do just that with their newest shortfilm, Behind Every Great Man.

It was back in 2012 that stuntman and award-winning independent filmmaker Dorian Kingi took to his third stint behind the camera for dramatic action short that coupling dramatic action and themes with the assembly of raw stunt talent. The project in question is titled Violence, existing under the PMV Entertainment indie film banner founded by fellow actor and stuntman Jason Sweat, and hosts principal performances by Solomon Brende and Xingu Rodil starring as two guys who rush to a graffiti wall owned by a group of thugs to settle the score for brutally attacking their friends.
I got a chance to talk to a few of the people involved in the making of Violence, including Kingi, who explained some of his motives behind the project, among a few other things. He was quite forward and very insightful in many of his answers.

Enlight Pictures got the week started with the brand new teaser for the forthcoming finale of the Gordon Chan-directed trilogy, The Four 3D, in addition to a slate of stills from the film. On Tuesday, the push continued as fans and followers of the film were granted a look at eleven new posters, including nine one-sheets featuring the main cast.

To say that director Yoon Jong-bin's latest Korean period action epic, Kundo: Age Of The Rampant, had a great opening weekend since last Friday would be quite an understatement. To date, the film has earned KRW23.4 billion, beating out How To Train Your Dragon 2 and Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, while others like Transformers: Age Of Extinction and the Korean crime thriller, The Divine Move, stood their ground in the first six spots.

In Thailand, you are given several names when you were born. But when Tatchakorn Yeerum took to the film stage and partook in the legendary legacy of stellar cinematic action, the world would come to know him as the one and only Tony Jaa, star of the 2003 break out hit, Ong Bak.

This Christmas will mark the epic finale to director Peter Jackson's epic middle-Earth tale inspired by author J.R.R. Tokien's universe, filled with magic, mystery, intrigue and danger at every turn. The new official trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies has arrived ahead of its release on December 17, featuring an epic cast led by, but not Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Evangeline Lily, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch and Orlando Bloom.

Action star Michael Jai White gave fans a grand sigh of relief this month when he announced the official release date for his brand new action thriller, Falcon Rising. The film has already made its way throughout the festival circuit earning much approval as the latest martial arts action vehicle to hit the genre scene, one which credits White greatly as the film offers him a chance to play a role he's waited for his entire career.

Banking on his promise to deliver a full trilogy as of a few years ago, director Gordon Chan has returned to the fray with the latest teaser for The Four 3D, featuring the return of our cast including Deng Chao, Crystal Liu, Anthony Wong and many more. The film marks the final installation of the franchise based on a series of novels by Malaysian author Wen Ruian about four unique detectives who use their skills to solve unsolvable crimes and apprehend powerful criminals, incidentally swept into what the film deems as their final battle with an ultimate evil force.

Between now and next year, the world will catch fire as actress Jennifer Lawrence returns to the fray as the lead heroine in the two part finale to the epic Hunger Games franchise, with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1.

It was earlier this month that an official trailer was added to the growing push for independent filmmaker, VFX whiz and Flatcoin Productions founder Ulrik Bruchholz's newest comprehensive action project, Hard Boiled Cop. Assembled in the course of nearly two-and-a-half years, the project ended up evolving from beyond that period with a few other concepts up to then, and this week, Bruchholz is rolling out the new project in a pretty cool, experimental way.

Director and co-writer George Miller may have taken sixteen years or so to finally manifest his vision for a fourth installment in the epic desert Mad Max saga, but the efforts have already been paying off. Tom Hardy takes the lead handed down from previous franchise actor Mel Gibson who headlined the first three movies up to Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1986), and despite some of the significant hinderances the film endured, early test screenings are drawing some pretty positive buzz, particularly from this weekend's events at San Diego Comic Con with the first four character posters unveiled on Saturday.

With the hype currently building for the third season of the hit TV series, Arrow, netizens got to check out some exciting new footage from the series over the weekend, with our lead hero played by Stephen Amell, as well as a look at actor Manu Lanzi's Deathstroke, Colton Haynes's Arsenal and Caity Lotz's Black Canary to name a few. However, it wasn't until after the San Diego Comic-Con panel yesterday afternoon that fans everywhere were graced with a new version of the epic new teaser, which also offered new look at the forthcoming appearance of supervillian, Ra's al Ghul.

Last year I ranted about the first ever live-action rendition of the hit fighting game, Tekken directed by Rapid Fire helmer Dwight Little. The film did an adequate job as serving a nice little tournament action film but it was far from satisfying for the purists who hated the film, even so far as basing their disproval of the film on the very first U.K. trailer back in 2010 (and you crazy asshole YouTubers know what I mean). But moreover, it nearly undercut almost any hope of a potential, proper live-action rendition in the same notable fashion that Street Fighter got this year by way of Assasin's Fist (I can only hope I'm wrong in that regard).

The latest teaser has already gone viral for the forthcoming release of director Toa Fraser's new period action adventure, The Dead Lands. The film is poised for a debut at this year's Toronto International Film Festival this Fall and the teaser has finally been allowed virility through the official YouTube channel for New Zealand/Austraila distributor, Transmission Film.

The long awaited release of writer and director George Miller's new film, Mad Max: Fury Road has had its fair share of production-related stops and starts in the last several years, but the film is finally gearing up it promotional campaign having already unveiled a handful of set stills from the new dystopian action adventure on wheels. Tom Hardy takes on the classic character (once made popular by actor Mel Gibson since 1979) for the film's finalized release date of May 15, 2015, and in the wake of its latest publicity at this year's San Diego Comic Con, the film has four new character posters now available below the following synopsis:

Warner Bros went live this weekend kicking off a panel of its own with cast members from several of its films, namely Zack Snyder's newest production, Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The film has already begun promoting several images of the title cast, namely Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman.

For starters, to simply address the overwhelming support drawn for creative duo, actors Joey Ansah and Christian Howard's new online webseries release of Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist would be nothing short of an understatement. The phenomenon has captured the hearts of any growing number of thousands of fans this year and in the years since the journey began to reclaim the rightful cinematic vision for Capcom's highly popular video game franchise, and it's finally heading to television, DVD, Blu-Ray and VoD platforms soon. And as much support as there has been for the series, it was only a matter of time before sequel-hungry fans got the update they were waiting for.

It's great to live in an age where the online independent film scene has expanded to a point where bonafide stunt performers and martial artists are able to come together en masse and create something as epic as what actor, stuntman and co-writer Aaron Toney is currently brewing. Case in point: The latest teaser for Throne, the story of a king who sets out find the man responsible for framing him for the death of his own family.

Director and co-writer Michael Baumgarten's newest martial arts family drama has been on the receiving end of an intense promotional campaign this year headlined by martial arts action stars Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign going into the summer, The Martial Arts Kid marks the latest film project for Traditionz Movie 1, LLC in conjunction with N.J.-based anti-bullying organization, Kickin It, a move that puts the film's very theme front and center with leading actor Jansen Panetierre in the title role.

Debut director Siti Kamaluddin is still gracing the summer film festival circuit with her newest martial arts action drama, Yasmine, starring Liyana Yus.
Much to Kamaluddin's approval and that the folks behind the curtain over at Origin Films, the film is marking a major milestone for the director who has so far been busy touring with the film in parts of Asia, and over in Switzerland where it won best Asian film for its Neuchatel premiere earlier this month. And this week, the new film is making headlines with some astonishing updates for fans of the genre all over the world.

Following director Tsai Yueh-Tsun's previous work on Black And White: The Dawn Of Assault, his next big effort with Black And White 2: The Dawn Of Justice is another bold effort to sharpen the equality of blockbuster action movies overseas. And so far, we've seen a teaser and featurette that helps showcase a little more of that effort, but largely toward the big scale of storytelling.

It took all but three months of training in hand-to-hand and weapons for independent filmmakers and stunt trainers at Cinematic Fight Studio to help assemble their latest project with student, up-and-coming actress Kadia Saraf. The end result is what you now see in their new experimental action shortfilm, Most Wanted, which showcases Saraf as she takes on a bounty hunter hot on her tail, played by actor, martial artist and fellow trainer and choreographer, Neyssan Falahi.

Warner Bros. is currently busy promoting its next theatrical slate of films for this year's events at San Diego Comic Con, which also include just a touch of what fan can expect with costume pieces from Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice. The film is currently in production under director Zack Snyder with lead actor Henry Cavill reprising his role from last year's Man Of Steel and is poised for a May 6, 2016 release.

Some say that patience is a virtue for anything worth waiting for, and for fans of martial arts stars Wu Jing and Scott Adkins, the reward is finally getting closer with the latest thirty second teaser for Wu's solo directorial debut, Special Force: Wolf Warrior (formerly known as Warg and Wolf War).

Gamemaker Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Unity comes out this October, and if you love all things Assassin's Creed, then San Diego Comic Con is especially the place to be. In light of the event, independent filmmaker Devin Graham has unleashed his newest action short attributed to the fifth game of the series titled, Assassin's Creed Unity Meets Parkour In Real Life.

There's still plenty of room between now and August 30 when Nikkatsu gives director Sono Sion's latest film, Tokyo Tribe, its big screen live-action debut. The film is being billed as "the world's first hip-hop battle rap musical" as indicated by the latest trailer which aired earlier this month, and this week, the film's feature single, "Hope", is now available in Japan, in accordance with the film's new music video which you can now watch below courtesy of Warner Bros. Japan.

Actor Pierce Brosnan may be long far from his days as James Bond, but he's back in action and ready to shoot and blow things up in Roger Donaldson's newest thriller, The November Man. The film is based on the seventh book in the titular book series by author Bill Granger, centered on the story of a former CIA operative who finds himself pitted against his former pupil, while forced back into the field on a very personal mission to find a woman on the run from her past who holds the key to an international conspiracy involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.

Director Siddharth Anand is looking to set the benchmark for Bollywood action, and the latest trailer for his newest film, Bang Bang!, is every indication. The film was a global production aimed at remaking helmer James Mangold's 2010 action comedy, Knight And Day, featuring action star Hrithik Roshan and actress Katrina Kaif.

The past year saw a grave loss of a few notable, memorable and iconic film figures of the martial arts and film industry as a whole, including the passing of action cinema arbiter and late kung fu cinema legend Lau Kar-Leung.

I don't know how excited you are about seeing what period Maori martial arts action looks like on the big screen, but I'm frickin stoked! The first official teaser arrived this week for director Toa Fraser's new film, The Dead Lands, which has earned a pretty good headstart in building up a fair amount of hype since production process began late last year.

Most Read Articles Of The Week

Right about now you're waiting news over any and all pertaining to Chad Stahelski's John Wick: Chapter Three which is still in production. This week, some of the best news to arise now sees word that Tiger Chen, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman have all joined the production starring opposite Keanu Reeves who returns to star.
A few photos have gone viral in recent weeks seeing Chen merely hinting a presence on set but this latest update is official. The three are said to play opposite Keanu Reeves according news over at The Hollywood Reporter with Chen back on set following a starring role in the 2014 kung fu spiritual drama, Man Of Tai Chi.
It's an update worth noting as it hopefully sets up for a larger Hollywood screen presence for all three martial arts stars who've seen their rise in all of the last nine years collectively, including that of Chen whose friendship dates back to production on The Matrix trilogy. Ruhian and Rahman have been earning their claim to…

Well this is spiffy. Who Taffy Edwards is remains a mystery while said individual sits in the directors chair for upcoming independent crime pic, English Dogs. The film is set to arrive sometime this year and has Time Rush actors Byron Gibson (Only God Forgives) and martial arts sensation, action actor Ron Smoorenberg (Asura) leading the cast.
Plot details are nil as things stand, save for what we can extrapolate from the official trailer that premiered on Wednesday in addition to the film's doughty tagline: "There are 340 breeds of Dogs on the Planet but there can only be one Alpha". And that's about all we got to work with along with what the trailer offers in its ambitious British gangster tropes with Thailand as the backdrop, and watching Gibson throwdown along with shots of Smoorenberg in his element on top of chewing some scenery as a crimeboss, which is always welcome.
Check out the trailer below!

The last few years have seen the wheels turn quite a bit for director Jesse Haaja who made history in debuting Finland's first comic book superhero movie, Rendel. Nowadays he's developing other properties including Furrow, but that doesn't necessarily count out prospects for a sequel while genre specialist Raven Banner has anything to say for it.
Such is what includes Jeremy Kay's Screen International report this weekend with word that sales on a sequel to the Finnish superhero hit film have launched at the Cannes market. Producers at Black Lion Pictures and Frozen Flame Pictures are planning an early 2019 shoot on Rendel 2 which has Haaja returning to the helm to follow up the story of a family man previously resurrected from near-death with a brutal, masked alterego to seek revenge in the name of a city crying out for justice against a criminal organization and their pharmaceutical cohorts. “I can’t even describe how excited I am for this,” Haaja said of the ongoing s…

An exasperating wait, no less, for folks like myself who live in the U.S.. Still, it's nice to know that a Blu-Ray/Digital HD release of the new tournament martial arts thriller, Boyka: Undisputed, is well on its way with an August release, while it's even nicer to know that the film's star, actor and martial artist Scott Adkins wants to do a fifth.
He says so at around the 11:40 mark in his latest interview now online following his recent appearance at MCM Expo in London this week to discuss the role and the film as a whole - And not for nothing either as he continues to pound away at fans who enjoy his movies, but insist on stealing them online which will otherwise kill any chance of the film happening before 2030 if we're lucky (my words, not his).
Adkins also shares several new images from his latest, Accident Man, and some gems on Michael Cuesta's American Assassin, working with Tony Jaa on the recently-wrapped ensemble action thriller, Triple Threat, and muc…

With weeks away before cameras roll for upcoming martial arts mobster comedy, Made In Chinatown, we can report that the production will pair director Art Camacho with producer Robert Samuels who will also share the helm as co-director. The news comes roughly one week since Camacho's arrival to the director's chair after replacing another filmmaker who was already attached as the film underwent several months of development.
Camacho and Samuels will direct from a script by executive producer and author Mark V. Wiley that centers on Vinny, a hapless Chinatown resident who, with the help of his sifu and a select few good friends, works to assimilate himself into Italian mob life and gain top-tier status whilst in pursuit of the girl of his dreams. The independent New York City-set action comedy production lands stuntman, world-class wushu stylist and champion Gold medalist, actor Alfred Hsing (Ready Player One, Ip Man 3, Birth Of The Dragon) his first major acting role.
Hungry …

I myself couldn't really get past some of the fan-service that culminates all seemingly ado with the current Kickboxer franchise following the reboot in 2016. I suppose the best part is that Dmitri Logothetis has found a direction to take it in, onward from Vengeance through Redemption and now with the third, Kickboxer: Armageddon. And indeed, that's Alain Moussi in the footage donning a whole new Kurt Sloan we haven't seen before. Brand new look and all!
Other details are officially pending but Logothetis himself has mentioned the possible return of Mike Tyson, Ronadinho and Christopher Lambert in addition to George St. Pierre and other UFC and sports favorites...and Snoop Dogg for some reason? He's also presented a brand new teaser to help stir the fandom some, so check it out anf expect more Kickboxer news onward through 2019.

The May 17, 2019 release of John Wick: Chapter Three pretty much has everyone engaged losing their collective skulls at the moment. Production is already underway and confirming previous rumors of late is actress Halle Berry asserting her place in the cast.
Thus, she'll be joining in with a lot for the film's returning cast members, in addition to a wave of new names totaling actors Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane and Lance Reddick all reprising their roles, and with actresses Asia Kate Dillon and Anjelica Huston, and actors Mark Dacascos and Jason Mantzoukas to the cast.
The production has released cast cards with the roles all respective to the performers listed for whom Chad Stahelski will direct for Lionsgate for the production's remaining duration. Check it all out below and stay tuned, because I'm ready for more surprises! JOHN WICK 3: PARABELLUM Cast

Events at Cannes have been a turning point for some film fans highly keen on all things ado with action star, Jean-Claude Van Damme. Having made a splash this year with buzz for the launch of his Rodin Entertainment sales banner and announcing another slate of film prospects, his latest offering now brings us a pulsating look at Braqueurs helmer Julien Leclerq's new thriller, Lukas, otherwise hailed in our territories as The Bouncer.Lukas, a nightclub bouncer in his fifties who's taken punches, literally and figuratively, struggles to raise his 8 year old daughter. One day, Lukas loses control during an altercation with a client and ends up in jail, while his daughter gets placed under the care of social services. But things take an unexpected turn when Interpol recruits Lukas to bring down a Dutch ringleader operating from Belgium in exchange for his daughter's custody.
The first official teaser and accommodation poster have both arrived and very befitting with one anoth…

About five years ago I managed to interview stuntwoman, actress and producer Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez. It was through her I managed to build a rapport with several other veterans and up-and-comers in the industry whilst getting an angle going on covering the stunt field and it was a privelege to be able to exchange with her than as it still is now from time to time.

She's a talented singer as well - a fact that I was reminded of clean and clear when last year, I managed to screen one of her most recent short film appearances, Pimpkillah, courtesy of filmmaker and comic book creator Sarah Bitely. I think it quite surprised Michelle and that was sort of the feeling I got when I commented on one of her posts at the time.

Alas, the shortfilm has since gone public, marking a significant milestone for the budding filmmaker and comic book creator who moved from her hometown on the outskirts of DC/Baltimore in Maryland to Los Angeles, California in 2010. Her coming out party has assuredly …

Saban Films has kept its own market waiting long enough it seems and thus, the official trailer went live for Pasha Patriki's latest, Black Water, hailing a fifth pairing for action star duo Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren. The film is written by Chad Law with a story that centers on a deep cover operative who awakens, imprisoned in the confines of a CIA black site on a submarine and forced in a race against the clock to search for answers amidst a daring escape.Action-movie icons Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren deliver a double shot of adrenaline-fueled excitement in this heartpounding undersea thriller. After a failed mission, deep-cover operative Wheeler (Van Damme) is imprisoned in a CIA black site on a submarine. The CIA agents will to go to any lengths to get information from Wheeler—but nothing can prepare them for the storm of violence that erupts when he joins forces with a fellow prisoner (Lundgren) as deadly as he is mysterious. Black Water opens throu…